Jason Terry. He was the best player on the court for Game 6 in Miami. The Heat took the court on Sunday night with a two-time NBA MVP in LeBron James, and the man who shot down the Mavericks in 2006 to win the Finals MVP award, Dwyane Wade. But it was Dallas that left the court with all of the hardware. Dirk Nowitzki was named MVP of the series and the Mav’s got to take home the 2011 NBA Championship trophy. Dirk and the owner Mark Cuban are the two guys most responsible for this teams success. Not just for this series, but for the past ten years. On this night, however, Terry was the star that shone the brightest. The only other player that was on that 2006 team besides Nowitzki, JT terrorized Miami during Game 6.

The first half was a back and forth affair that saw LeBron get off to a fast start, Dirk struggle(1-12 FG), and Terry light it up. The “Jet” was 8-10 from the field, including going 3-5 from 3pt land. He finished the first half with 19 points, but the game was very tight and continued that way through much of the third quarter.

The Heat never could come all the way back once they fell behind in third quarter. Dallas would pull out to an 8 point lead, then Miami would cut it to 3 or 4, but the Mav’s would make a big shot and start stretching the lead again. Bron started out 4-4 from the field, then cooled off significantly. Wade never really seemed to get in rhythm throughout the game and the refs were not out to give DWade 25 free throws on this night either. There were a few blown calls, to be sure. That being said, the Heat did not help themselves at the foul line. Miami went 18-31 from the charity stripe. When you lose by 10 points, those 13 missed free throws just make you sick.

The 105-95 defeat was not a case of Miami losing this game, just as the Heat didn’t hand Dallas the series. The Mavericks won Game 6 and they beat the Heat in these Finals. The series was great, as long as your not a Miami fan. Every game had multiple lead changes and most of them had big runs by both teams. In fact, Game 6 was the first game that wasn’t really in doubt with 3:00 left in the 4th quarter. Dallas just made too many shots. It didn’t matter if it was JJ Barea, Jason Kidd, Terry, or Dirk, if they needed a bucket, somebody came up with it. Wade couldn’t rescue the Heat this time, even though several times during these Finals, it appeared like he was going to repeat the heroics of 2006.

So that is how the Miami Heat’s season ends, with disappointment. Chris Bosh looked the most depressed during the post-game press conferences. That’s how he has been all year. Not depressed, but he has been a man that really has seemed grateful for this opportunity. I don’t think anyone has more passion or desire than DWade, but Bosh is probably reflecting more on the whole experience, while D3 is probably already giving thought to next year. I’m sure that both the fans and the team thought they would be looking to Game 7 on Tuesday, not training camp in a few months.

About the AuthorSubscribe to author's RSS feed
Written by Sean Eckhardt
Univ of Alabama alumni. Born and raised outside Chicago, IL. Currently live in Florida. Some of my favorite teams include the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Heat, and the Florida Panthers. My interests outside of sports include music, outdoor activities, and anything with a motor(cars, bikes, boats, etc...).